Local police are not paramilitary units: Editorial

A protestor is detained Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. The Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by police has touched off rancorous protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb where police have used riot gear and tear gas. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)Christian Gooden

It's a long way from the timeless image of kindly police officers crafted by illustrator Norman Rockwell to the photos of police armed with heavy-duty military gear in Ferguson, Mo.

Is this what Americans want from their hometown police?

On Aug. 9, an officer in Ferguson shot and killed an unarmed teenager. Community protests ensued. Two days later, a SWAT team arrived to clear protesters from the Ferguson police station. The team came dressed for war — in riot gear and gas masks, bearing automatic weapons — though the protests had been mostly peaceful. The officers aimed heavy artillery at unarmed protesters and patrolled the streets in armored tanks.

Since 1990, the National Defense Authorization Act has allowed the Defense Department to transfer military weapons to police departments to counter drug activity. In the 10 years following Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security disbursed more than $35 billion in grants to state and local police — much of it spent on equipment.

Post-9/11, it's not foolish to think that law enforcement agencies, especially here in the Northeast, should have access to the kind of equipment needed to address an attack. Surely, the state police and the National Guard require these resources.

But does the Bergen County sheriff really need two "mine-resistant, ambush-protected" (MRAP) vehicles, as he's requested? Does every police department in his county get one, too? New Jersey has a lot of separate police agencies. As this equipment multiplies, it's just human nature that its custodians will find a reason — often, just an excuse — to use it.

"Americans are witnessing firsthand the effects of long-standing federal policy that transfers surplus combat tools from the Pentagon to local law enforcement as our wars overseas are winding down," says U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., of Monmouth County, who recently voted for a bill to prohibit the transfer of surplus military equipment to municipal police departments. "Such a show of force can needlessly escalate a situation like we are seeing in Ferguson," Pallone adds.

So, one lawmaker gets it, but the desire of so many in Congress to look tough on crime by distributing these "trophies" to their districts is a likely reason that the ban failed. So is the generosity with campaign funds of defense contractors, who are only too happy to replace with new stuff the tanks, aircraft, etc., that the Pentagon casts off. Those who opposed the bill received, on average, 73 percent more in defense-industry donations than those who voted for it, according to a study by The Economist.

Community police dressed like storm troopers in armored tanks? This is one arms race that needs to de-escalate.